Monday, January 21, 2019

to take the unusual sighting of an owl on an evening walk as confirmation that you should change your life seems like a stretch, maybe. but if you'd seen that owl! the way his head spun to look right at us, his enormous wingspan dwarfing the stop sign he'd landed upon. the feathers made a sound as he adjusted them that was akin to dragging heavy coats across an empty floor. as i looked into his eyes, the energy there reminded me of every person and creature i've loved and lost. could it be that he was visiting from across time and space? i guess it doesn't really matter. i've never been much of a science fiction buff, but on the exact day that we decided to take a leap of faith into a far simpler life by buying an ugly little house, less than half the size of our current one and making a grand downsize in stuff and a big upsize in peace is the one and only day i've seen an owl in the wild. as a bit of history: my grandfather gave to my mother a golden owl brooch on the day she married my father. he said it was to represent what a wise choice she'd made. when told that story as a child, fingering the heavy gold of the bird, i wholeheartedly believed in symbols. i believed in talismans. and i definitely believed in the wisdom of owls. not so much has changed.

Author of three books published by Viking Penguin. THE RUG MERCHANT, DEAR STRANGERS and THIS IS HOW I'D LOVE YOU. Amateur seamstress, professional picker, admirer of design, clogs, pigtails, porch swings, & warm cookies.